Shoe-lacing device.



J. BONIFANT.

- SHOE LAGING DEVICE. APPLIOATION FILED mnlao. 1914.

LEQSEU?? f l Patented Deazawm,

l readily 'view of the shoe,

said lacing being so I readily slide through the eyelets and having UNITE il STA ATENT @FFIQEQ SHOE-Laarne DnvIcE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1.9114.

v Application led March 30, 1914. Serial No. 828,365.

To all whom t may concern Be it'known that I, JOHN citizen of the United States, residing at Rockville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Maryland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Lacing Devices, ofwhich the following is a speciication. i

The invention relates to boots and shoes, and more particularly to that class of devices fo'r use in lacing and securing boots or shoes upon the foot of 'thewearen The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple structure -which can be applied to boots or shoes and in which it is not necessary to withdraw the usual lacing from the eyelets in the upper of the boot or shoe in order to remove the same from the foot and in which, furthermore, by simply loosening the lacing the boot or shoe can be removed and as readily applied to the foot of the wearer.

In the further disclosure of the invention refeuence is to be had to the accompanying drawings, constituting a part of this specification, yin erence denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective showing my device applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line 2-2 in Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified form of my device.

Referring more particularly to the views, I disclose a shoe 10 having an upper 11, the edges 12 of which it is desired to draw together after the shoe has been applied to the foot of the wearer. To this end, a series of BONIFANT, a

eyelets 13 are arranged in opposed relation adl. l jacent the edges 12 of the upper l1 as shown, and a single lacing 14 is passed through the eyelets 13 as shown, with the ends of the lacing at'the upper ends of the upper, the arran ed that it will portions between opposed and adjacent eyelets forming opposed loops 15. ,f

A member 16 is provided to connect the opposed loops of the lacing between each pair of adjacent eyelets and the said member consists, more particularly,of a single piece of metal or other material of a flat ribbonlike nature and constituting a body 17 havwhich similar characters of ref- -loops 15 to which the -ing its end bent Irearwardly upon itself to form eyelets 18 through which the loops l5 pass. e

In assembling the structure mentioned the lacing ltis first arranged upon the upper 11 as shown to provide the opposed loops 15, with the vadjacent vlacing passing through the eyelets 13 and then the members 16 are applied to the opposed loops of the lacing, the said member when iirst applied being flat, after which its ends are bent around the loops 15 as shown, so that the loops can loosely slide through the eyelets formed by the bent ends of the member. Now assuming that the lacing is loose, after the shoe has been applied to the foot of the wearer, it is only necessary to draw up at different portions along the loops of the lacing and then exert a final-pull on the free ends of the lacing at the upper end of the upper, thereby `drawing the edges 12 of the upper together without necessitating the passing of the lacing through the eyelets after the shoe.

has been applied and which isusually the case with most shoes now generally Worn and which are provided with eyelets. Similarly, when it is desired to remove the shoe from the foot of the wearer, it is only neces- -sary to 'undo or untie the ends of the lacing at the upper edge of the upper and then by gripping the upper adjacent its edges 12 the same -canbe spread apart so that the lacing will loosely slide vthrough the members 16 and the eyelets 13 so that the edges of the upper can be spaced. sufficiently apart to permit of readily withdrawing the shoe from the foot of the wearer.

.In Fig. 3 I disclose a modified form of m device in which instance. instead of provi ing opposed eyelets 18, I provide opposed pairs of eyelets 19. with the eyelets arranged in pairs along eachledge of the upper and with each pair of eyelets in opposed relation to another. pair of eyelets along the other edgeof theupper, the lacing being adapted to pass downwardly through the first eyelet in each pair and then upwardly through the second eyelet in each pair, so that theportions of the lacing between adjacent pairs of eyelets will form loops 20 similar to the members 16 are applied. l

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the structures set fort-hare 'ze V IDE , extend upwardly almost to the knee,A as in simple, and that the lacing und members 16 can be `readily applied to various forms and styles lof shoes or boots. y

The device described is particularly viule'ptable for nse'on shoes or boots having what are knowrA as high uppers and which hn'ntin boots and 4the like.

Having thus described nl y invention,

clim

In ycombinationwith a lacing for foot gear, said vinterlaced on the lacing bein ike member formed foot gear, a fiat ribbon- Vof a, single pieoe of flat metal having its ends bent inthe 'form of eyelets lying on the seme .tions of the lacing which engage the foot gear emi are interlaced. therem.

A l ln testimony whereof a my signature in presence of two witnesses. v JOHN BNFANT Witnessesz I a F. A.. ROSTER, E. Emionswom Jr. 

